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The Charity Benefit (3) - Now is as good of a time as any to examine one of the many tables displaying items for the auction. The table is full of donations, both new and old, and something catches your eye. It’s only when you get closer to the item that you have some sort of fierce, emotional response. It might be nostalgia or happiness, or sadness, or fear, or anger--any emotion is possible. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to feel this way; the item can be any that you choose. Though the emotion doesn’t linger for long, there’s no clear reason as to why it inspired such feelings. Is the item worth bidding on? Or running away from?
Luca had taken a mostly investigative outlook on the Charity Benefit that came with the Star Festival. She was there for a good time, sure, but her main motive was curiosity. She wanted to see people all dressed up in pretty outfits and she wanted to see what was up for auction. Would she buy anything? Probably not, but she’d probably text Kayla or someone about how high the bidding went. Kayla would probably be disgusted about that kind of reckless spending, but she’d be interested all the same.
She was met with about as much glitz and glory as she could expect. Well, mostly glitz, not so much glory, as this was a charity benefit, after all. People tried to be humble even with all their makeup. Even as they prepared to spend gobs of money on this knickknack or that.
Luca decided she wanted to see just what the knickknacks were right about now, even if she probably wouldn’t buy. There was a curious assortment on this one table: an old clock, a letter opener (tarnished and dull, putting concerns to rest), a flask of some sort. On the very end, however, was a small crystal statue shaped like a bird. It was clear, but the wings and eyes were red crystal, making them stand out.
Her natural sympathy with birds drove Luca to inspect the crystal bird more closely, to the point that she bent down and almost got on eye level with it. At that moment, with no real cause, she felt a blast of emotions from deep inside her. There were a lot of components to the mass of feelings that made the overall perception hard to label. It almost felt pulling, like yearning but with happy tears, and yet there wasn’t a complete positive valence to it. In fact, after a moment, she almost felt like she was grieving for something precious that had been lost. She was getting misty eyed over this bird, and she didn’t know why, though maybe she could make a small diatribe about how a red-winged bird suited her symbolically. She joked to herself that she could have made a song magic with the strength of her feelings, but that was a much nerdier diatribe for a different time.
Trying not to cry for no apparent reason, her eyes drifted over to the starting bid for the bird, and the surge of emotions abruptly shut off. What the heck was this bird made of, diamond?! Though Luca had a bit of disposable income saved up from her job at the bar, she wasn’t plunking that much on a crystal bird. She needed a new game or a new shirt or something more. Anything would be more justifiable than a crystal bird. Even a plush bird, maybe.
Shaking her head to clear the dust from her mind, Luca backed away from the table and went to go find refreshments. Whoever got that bird had better take good care of it. Not that she could enforce it, but it better at least make a good paperweight.
(Word count: 515)
